Forever Young
by Lady Sage
Summary: Inu-Yasha lies dying, five hundred years after the Shikon shard was completed. I don't really know how to summarize it, but please read it.


Disclaimers: Roses are red  
  
Violets are blue.  
  
I don't own Inu-Yasha,  
  
So please don't sue!  
  
Author's notes: Once again, an idea randomly comes to me almost completely developed while I'm in the shower. Seriously, that's where I get a lot of my ideas. Whenever I have writer's block, I just hop in the shower and eventually, and idea will hit me. Of course, that's not always what I can do. Being a high school student in a family of five, there are various obstacles, i.e. homework, timing, and hot water shortages inherent on days when there are dirty little boys to be washed, laundry to be done, and dishwashers to be filled and cleaned.  
  
Anyway, this is gonna be rather angsty. No cutesy fluff, sweet but hotheaded OCs, or any of the fun silliness to be found in my other fics. This is gonna be serious, bittersweet stuff. But I hope you enjoy it anyway. Have fun, and be sure to review!  
  
One last thing. ~**~ indicates a section break; *~~* indicates a flashback/end flashback  
  
Inu-Yasha was lying on a bed, unable to move. *Chikusho…* he thought as he panted. *It's getting harder to breathe. I'm not gonna make it…*  
  
Over four hundred years ago, Kagome had left him. She said that although she loved him and everyone else in the Sengoku Jidai, her life back in her time was growing steadily more complicated. She simply didn't have the time to travel back and forth. The Shikon no tama was completed and she wasn't needed anymore.  
  
*~~*  
  
"What? You're not coming back?"  
  
Kagome looked down, fidgeting slightly. "I'm sorry, Inu-Yasha. I really do want to come back, but I can't. It's getting to be time for college entrance exams, and I don't have time to study *and* visit you. The Shikon Jewel is completed, right? You guys don't need me anymore."  
  
Inu-Yasha wanted to reach out and hold her, to assure that it was fine and he understood. But once again, almost against his will, the anger took over again, falling into the old pattern. "What do you mean, wench? You're going back to see that Hoho moron again, aren't you? You just want me out of the way, don't you!"  
  
Kagome's grey eyes flashed. "Why do you always act like a teenage girl with PMS? It's not about that at all. It's not because of any boy back there. You know I love you, Inu-Yasha! I would never leave any of you just because I wanted to." Much of the anger left her voice, and tears began to fill her eyes. "It's just…my other life comes first. I have to make priorities, and…I'm sorry!" The tears flooded over, and she threw herself into Inu-Yasha's arms.  
  
The hanyou was startled, but only for a moment. He buried his sensitive nose in her hair, memorizing her scent. The scent of the girl who had gentled him, who renewed his trust in others, human and youkai alike, who had reopened the wound on his bleeding heart, then healed it.  
  
Shippou, Miroku, and Sango were smart enough to only watch silently until the moment was broken. When the embrace finally ended, Kagome looked around at everyone, her eyes still wet. "Well, I suppose I should go. It's already hard enough." She started to go, but decided to give everyone a quick hug before leaving. "Bye everyone!" she called just before jumping in, leaving them forever.  
  
*~~*  
  
Inu-Yasha lifted up a clawed hand and stared at it. It didn't look like that of a man over four hundred years old. In fact, it showed no sign that the owner was any older than twenty.  
  
It was a total and complete betrayal from the truth.  
  
Inu-Yasha, while pained over the fact that Kagome had left, had one small comfort: that if he was careful, he may live to see her in her time. But that comfort didn't last for long. He realized that it was quite possible his lifespan as a hanyou would not last the time until he could see Kagome, and even if he did, chances were he would be an old man by then.  
  
That revelation sent him reeling even deeper into mourning. That is, until Miroku came to him with a wonderful piece of news…  
  
*~~*  
  
"Inu-Yasha?" Miroku said softly, knocking on the door as he walked in.  
  
Inu-Yasha looked up dully. He was a wreck. His silver-white hair and lost all its shine. He had grown thin from not eating. Worst of all, his golden eyes had lost all the fire they once held. "Hai?"  
  
Shippou, who sat on the priest's shoulder, shuddered slightly. Miroku privately wanted to do the same. It was terrible to watch someone who was once so full of life turn into such a wretched being.  
  
"Inu-Yasha, you're concerned that you'll be an old man by the time you get to see Kagome again, right?"  
  
Inu-Yasha didn't reply. He just stared at an aged piece of paper, a photograph of him and Kagome that she took once so many years ago, when she brought a Polaroid camera through the well.  
  
Miroku hesitated slightly, but continued. "Well, I heard that there is a miko in the north with the power to grant eternal youth…"  
  
He didn't need to say anything more. Inu-Yasha seemed to transform before his very eyes. His whole demeanor was different. Vitality seemed to enter those thin limbs once again, and the fire came back to his eyes. "Well, what are you waiting for, monk? Let's get going."  
  
Miroku smiled and nodded. Shippou grinned and said, "He's back."  
  
*~~*  
  
The journey to find the miko was hard, but Inu-Yasha didn't regret a moment of it. He traveled with Miroku, Sango and Shippou. It was just like the search for the Shikon shards…minus Kagome. But it was okay, for Kagome was with them in spirit. She was the whole reason for it, and she was on everybody's minds. Every evil youkai Inu-Yasha fought and killed was for her. Every meal eaten had been hunted for with Kagome's arrows. Finally, the day came when they found her. The woman who could return hope to Inu- Yasha's heart…  
  
*~~*  
  
Miroku approached the door, and knocked. When there was no reply, he knocked again, louder this time. Once again, no reply. "Excuse me?" he called.  
  
"Feh." Inu-Yasha drew back his fist and punched the door down.  
  
Sango lifted up an eyebrow. "Well, we could always try the subtle approach," she quipped, and followed the others inside.  
  
"How can I help you?" a soft voice came from the depths of the room.  
  
"We need you to do a spell," Inu-Yasha said strongly, refusing to betray the nervousness he felt deep within him.  
  
"And what would that be?" The miko stepped out of the shadows. Miroku swallowed hard, suppressing the urge to go back to old habits and ask the woman to bear his child. She was undeniably beautiful. Her black hair was long and thick; her lips were full and red; her brown, almond shaped eyes were bright and intelligent. "My, my. Two humans, a hanyou, and a youkai. What a motley bunch. Throw in an oni or two, and we'll have a complete set."  
  
"I need you to give me eternal youth," Inu-Yasha said, his voice overly forceful in his nervousness.  
  
"First, tell me your name and those of you companions. I am Shinobu."  
  
"My name is Inu-Yasha, that's Miroku, that's Sango, and that's Shippou. Now, I need you to do the spell!"  
  
"Do you understand the conditions of the spell?"  
  
"What?" Inu-Yasha knew nothing about magic. What was this witch going on about?  
  
Shinobu sighed. "How ignorant are you? Every spell that can be performed has certain… specifics. Now do you understand?"  
  
"Just tell me about the spell!"  
  
"It gives the *illusion* of eternal youth. In truth, your lifespan won't be extended, you just won't age outwardly. Do you understand?"  
  
"Yes, yes! Just do the &^#ing spell!"  
  
Shinobu closed her eyes and muttered a few unintelligible words. The four guests watched in amazement as her hair floated around her and she began to glow. She leaned over and kissed Inu-Yasha on the forehead, transferring the glow to him. When the glowed faded, Inu-Yasha blinked several times and shook himself. He felt…odd.  
  
"Feel strange, don't you?" Inu-Yasha shook his head, not wanting to admit it to a complete stranger. Shinobu arched a delicate eyebrow. "You are a blatant liar. One of the side effects of that spell in particular is that you'll feel strange for the next few days. What about you two?" she asked, turning to Miroku and Sango. "Would you two like to be young for the rest of your lives?"  
  
"No thank you. Our friend has a reason for it. It wouldn't be necessary for us."  
  
"All right then." Shinobu reached in a box, and tossed two pendants at Inu- Yasha and Shippou. "It's a gift I give to all youkai who come my way. It will give you the appearance of a human when you put it on."  
  
Shippou slipped it on over his head. Immediately his pointed ears became rounded; his canine legs became human, and his bushy tail disappeared. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "But why?"  
  
Shinobu simply said, "The world is becoming more and more dangerous for those of your kind. Soon, those who do not disguise themselves will be dead."  
  
*~~*  
  
"Inu-Yasha?" Shippou peered over the hanyou, his eyes bright with tears. He donned his pendant, so he appeared to be a normal young man of twenty- five or so. Given, he looked like a gaijin with his auburn hair and blue eyes, but he was generally accepted. A single tear fell and splashed onto Inu-Yasha's face.  
  
"Damn it, brat," Inu-Yasha growled, barely able to speak. "You're getting me wet."  
  
Shippou ignored his rough words. "Inu-Yasha…you're dying…"  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
The kitsune's tears overflowed. "I've never been on my own in my entire life, except for right after my ma and pa were killed! Now you're going to be gone and I'll be all alone! And...and…" he was unable to finish, he was crying so hard.  
  
Inu-Yasha stared at him, unsure what to say. After all the years together, he felt almost like a big brother to Shippou. Finally, he said, "Hey, you'll be fine. You've picked up a lot over the years, certainly enough to take care of yourself. Besides, you'll be with Kagome in a few years, right?"  
  
Shippou gasped, the notion just coming to him. "You aren't going to get to see Kagome! There's just seven years left until we can see her too…"  
  
Inu-Yasha sucked in a breath, and realized that he didn't have much time left to say what he wanted to say. "Shippou…watch over Kagome. Make sure she stays safe. And when you finally meet her, tell her I'm sorry I couldn't make it." He clutched his friend's sleeve. "Tell her…I love her." As the words left his mouth, a smile spread across his lips. His eyes closed, and his chest ceased to rise.  
  
"Inu-Yasha…" Shippou sobbed. He couldn't believe it. The one person he spent his last five hundred years with…the one person who saved him from loneliness…was gone. *NO! It can't be!* "INU-YASHA!" he screamed, his voice filled with the raw pain and childlike grief that he felt.  
  
  
  
End notes: Voila! That's it! What do you think? I've been considering writing an epilogue. Think I should? By the way, someone told me the ending seemed like there's shounen ai… Well, I'll say this: Shippou loves Inu-Yasha, but not like *that*. Like a big brother, or a really close friend. I mean come on, they've been together for five hundred *years*! If your companion of that long died, I bet you'd scream too. Be sure to review! Ja! 


End file.
